What have I got??? Antique cherry restoration project

[Inkdchippie]

Can anybody perhaps shed some light on the make, origin and value of some cherry furniture that I took off someones hands for free.
The idea was to carry out some restoration work on it and sell it for a profit.
The first piece is a 3 drawer chest with mirror. One of the drawers has a makers mark (see picture below) The mirror is complete
The second piece is a marble washstand, also with a mirror. The marble is in perfect condition. The mirror is complete.
As I said. That was the idea.
Having poked around various sites with used/second hand/antique (call it what you will) furniture for sale. I'm now beginning to think that the juice just isn't worth the squeeze.
I cant find anything out about it. Nothing that looks similar. And, what I have found that is broadly similar ain't worth a whole bunch! And as I have no time to do anything with it for the foreseable, as well as it taking up valuable real estate in my shop. It's time to go. Or become firewood! If it's worth some cash, then Ill go through the motions of advertising it. If it's not, and I hate to say this. Then I'll tear it down and use the timber for other projects. (General Woodworking topic - hopefully....)
Any insight would be much appreciated.

As I said, I took on as a restoration. There is damage to it. Dovetails have separated where the front has cupped on a drawer. Legs have split where the tenons are located. And I think both of the freeze's at the top are snapped missing And general wear and tear from many years of service

Thanks.

P.S.
Mods - Wasn't sure where to post as nothing fitted my needs exactly. Apologies if this is the wrong area to post in

 

[custard]

The overhang on the chest top is too big, it looks like it's been messed around with and then heavily stained to unify disparate donor components, which is why it resembles Cherry.

in a local auction you'd be lucky to get a fiver for it. That's just the reality of the antique furniture market today. The previous generation of collectors are dying off and not being replaced. So if it's not museum quality with impeccable provenance, or dainty, decorative, and dripping in patination, then it's almost worthless.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-Chest ... SwaB5XsIrd

Incidentally, the 1890 date in the above listing might be a bit ambitious, I'd have said 1920. Not that it really matters, they're all unloved orphans whatever the year.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

The pieces seem to fairly typically fit the style and construction of mass or batch produced work from about the Edwardian period to somewhere in the late 1920s or early 1930s: the pulls have something a bit art deco about them too, which hints at that period. As custard suggests, the piece on top of the chest of drawers with its mirror doesn't seem to belong. If it's attached it's what I call a mixed or shotgun marriage.

Are you sure it's cherry? It could be birch or even a maple/ sycamore, but I admit it's very hard to tell from a small low resolution photograph. As to value even after restoration, I'm no expert, but I wouldn't expect it to be very high. There used to be a lot of that kind of furniture about in country residences, farmhouses and the like, and that's probably still the case. I'm from a large farming family, and there was a fair amount of that kind of stuff in the house - fairly solid, dependable, largely machine made, and not especially fashionable, but it reasonably economically filled up the multiple large rooms typical of farmhouses, and other similar residences. Every aunt or uncle on both sides of my family seemed to have examples of similar stuff around, most of which has passed on to various cousins and their families. I suspect investing significant time into a restoration or repair wouldn't be especially financially rewarding, but it might be a bit of fun if you decide to fix them up for yourself, although that doesn't solve the apparent apparent shotgun marriage pieces, ha, ha. Slainte.

 

[AJB Temple]

Zero profit opportunity. Not worth the labour cost to proceed. Local auction house to me regards this kind of thing as firewood these days.

I sometimes by brown "antiques" especially mahogany, for peanuts just to break it down for the wood.